Primary will affect Ward 1 absentee voting

Primary will affect Ward 1 absentee voting

Jefferson City voters will see several contested races for City Council on the April ballot, but only voters in Ward 1 will have a March 5 primary.

The late primary date will cause issues for Ward 1 absentee voters, making them unable to cast absentee ballots until almost one month after absentee voting begins.

That date creates some difficulty as the ballots for the April general election are printed before the March date. Another issue is that absentee voting is allowed six weeks before election day, which means absentee voting would begin before the primary has been held.

Cole County Clerk Marvin Register said the ballot printing for Ward 1 would be held off until after the primary so the ballots can reflect the March outcome. But holding off on the printing means absentee voting cannot happen for Ward 1 voters until those ballots come back.

Absentee voting is slated to begin Feb. 19 and end April 1. The last day to mail out absentee ballots is March 27.